With less than 2 weeks until Christmas, we’re getting into holiday crunch time.
The good news is, I’m not talking about the kind of crunch time that makes you stress out over heavy traffic, long lines and last-minute gift buying. I’m talking about the kind of crunch time that tastes good—the kind you whip up in a jiffy, using holiday pretzel rings, Hershey’s Kisses and M&M’s.
These snazzy Holiday Rings are perfect for snacking, setting out when guests arrive, to present as party food, or even to give as casual, just-because gifts. Their tasty, sweet ‘n salty combination appeals to a variety of palates, but is especially tempting to chocolate lovers (myself included).
Even better, these festive snacks can be prepared in under 15 minutes, then stored in an air-tight container and chilled, leaving you plenty of time to enjoy the holidays as well as the people around you.
FYI – These Holiday Rings are also the perfect way to get little cooks involved in the kitchen. Children (or grandchildren) as young as two can help set out the pretzels rings and fill their centers with Hershey’s Kisses. After baking, let the older kids put M&M’s in the centers and spread the warm Kisses to fill the rings, or sprinkle with touches of red and green sugar (optional). They’ll love helping, and will love sharing the holiday treats they got to create!
Ready to hit the kitchen?
Holiday Pretzel Rings
(recipe passed down from a former co-worker)
- 1 bag of pretzel rings (typically labeled Holiday Rings, hard to find but available in season)
- 1 package Hershey’s Kisses (I use milk chocolate and dark chocolate Kisses, but feel free to experiment with Hershey Hugs and the mint variety as well. Note – Some Kiss varieties warm at different rates than others.)
- 1 package M&M’s (holiday M&M’s—light green, dark green and red—work nicely at Christmastime)
- red and green sugar crystals (optional)
Assembly
Using a lined cookie sheet or jelly roll pan (sprayed with non-stick cooking spray if necessary), place the pretzel rings flat on each sheet (using as many as you require). Unwrap the Hershey’s Kisses and place 1 Kiss in the center of each pretzel ring. Bake at 275 degrees F, for approximately 3 minutes—just enough to soften chocolate, not melt it (chocolate should stay in Kiss shape, but readily spread when a single M&M is pushed gently into the center). Remove from oven. Place a single M&M in the center of each Kiss, pressing down gently so the softened Kiss spreads and fills the center of the pretzel ring. If desired, sprinkle warm rings with red and green sugars crystals for additional color. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes (or until chocolate is firm), and serve as needed.
While you can leave these Holiday Rings at room temperature to serve, I prefer to store mine in the fridge and take them out as needed.
This recipe will allow you to make as many Holiday Rings as you need or desire. Be sure to make plenty though—they are addictive and tend to disappear in a hurry when serving holiday guests!
Enjoy!
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Those are darling. I haven’t seen those pretzel rings, but I’ll look out for them. Sweet & salty is wonderful together!
How cute are those???
RecipeGirl – The pretzel rings (a.k.a. holiday rings) can be tricky to find, but they are out there and well worth the hunt to create these easy party snacks!
Mental P Mama – Answer? Pretty darn cute! (And so tasty too! Who doesn’t like pretzels, Kisses and M&M’s?!)
Those look scrumptious!
These are so cute!! Perfect little snack for my kids to make, they love to help in the kitchen. Thanks for sharing!! Happy Hoildays!
I think my grandkids would have a great time making these! We ordered some custom M&Ms with their photos this year — now, wouldn’t that be a riot, to have pretzel rings with their faces on them?!
WOW, those look so good! And nobody would have thought they were so easy to put together either, this is definitely going onto my cookie platter this year
Thanks!
Those look like a great treat to have out for the holidays! Chocolate and pretzels always work for me
These are so cute! I’ve never seen the rings but I will be on the hunt tomorrow!
These are so cute! I have been looking for recipes for treats to make as gifts for my family and friends. These would be so fun and easy to do-thanks!
These would be great for a class party. Exspecially when they dont tell you till the night before! I’ll keep my eye’s peeled for the pretzel rings too.
What a creative idea! They look so festive, perfect for entertaining.
Also great to use Rollos (chocolate covered caramel candies) in the center instead of Kisses. Tasty!
This is such a stellar idea.
Our family does something similar to this that we call Mock Turtles. We use the square pretzels that look like a window (regular mini twists work too). Lay them out on a sheet, put a Rolo (chocolate candy with caramel in the middle) on top and warm them in the oven a few minutes. The Rolos will also hold their shape until you push a pecan into them. Give them a few minutes to cool and store in an air tight container. Yummy!
This year I couldn’t find a bag of the Rolos in the candy aisle and instead had to buy tubes of them in the checkout lane. Although slightly more expensive, they were easier b/c they weren’t individually wrapped! A happy accident, as they say.
how lovely! i’ve not seen that shape of pretzels, but i’ll certainly be on the lookout!
Those are so DAMN cute – how fun and festive!!
What a cool idea! It looks so complicated but who would have guessed it was only 15 minutes!
These are adorable! I might make these to give away with Christmas cookies – sounds like a really fun treat!
Had you not told me pretzel rings were used, I never would have guessed!
This would certainly make for an edible conversation piece.
Brilliant! This might be just the thing I can do with my Sunday School class just before our holiday party!
So cute! I think this is just quick and easy enough for me to handle to bring to a party next week.
I make these same things but use Rolos instead of Hershey’s kisses. Mmmmm!
How cool. Now I will be on the lookout for those pretzel rings everywhere I go! lol I love Kristen’s rolo idea too!
They look so very cute, all-dressed up for Christmas
. These would be great to fix my savoury cravings and my hubster’s chocolate cravings. 2 in 1!
Those are so cute…I looked everywhere for those shaped pretzels and just couldn’t find them. I ended up making them on the mini pretzels which worked out good enough.
Just found your blog…I’ll be back!
A HUGE thank you to you. This was the perfect recipe to do some holiday baking with my kids. Ages 5 to 9. So very simple, yet the kids were really proud of themselves for making such a fun and great tasting snack.